Lamar Coach Brandon Schluterman admitted that his team's final possession against Central Arkansas Christian on Wednesday didn't go as planned.
He didn't mind it unfolding the way it did, especially since it gave the Lady Warriors their biggest victory of the season.
Sophomore guard Morgan Cochran hit an off-balanced shot with three seconds left as fourth-seeded Lamar stunned top-seeded CAC 40-38 in the first round of the Class 3A Region 3 tournament at Episcopal Collegiate's Wildcat Gymnasium.
"Man I tell you what, our kids earned that thing," Schluterman said. "We came down here and faced a great team that's extremely well-coached. We were very much the underdog, I think. But I couldn't be more prouder of my kids.
"They fought all game, showed toughness all game. I couldn't ask for anything more out of this group than what they showed out there [Wednesday]."
What Lamar (18-7) displayed was that it can play and beat one of Class 3A's best, even on a day when it shot just 28% (7 of 25) in the second half and turned the ball over more times in the fourth quarter (6) than it did in the entire first half (5).
The Lady Warriors had enough to stave off a feverish Lady Mustangs' rally in the final quarter until completing the upset on a play that was nearly doomed from the start.
Lamar's defense set up Cochran's eventual game-winner when it forced CAC (17-1) into a turnover with 30.1 seconds left. The Lady Warriors ran the next 19 seconds off the clock before Schluterman called a timeout.
After the ensuing inbounds, the ball landed in the hands of Cochran, who dribbled through a small seam on the right side of the lane. She seemingly had the ball poked away from her, but she gathered control and threw up a leaning one-hander. The ball rolled along the rim before falling through.
The Lady Mustangs got off a final shot, but their 75-footer fell way short, which set off a spirited celebration on Lamar's sideline.
"I honestly just wanted to make sure I got it off," said Cochran, who finished with a team-high 13 points for Lamar. "I wanted to make sure I got it up before the clock ran out. I was just hoping it went in, and thankfully it did."
Seniors Amber Brown and Britlyn Kendall each scored nine points for Lamar, which will face the winner of today's game between Atkins and Helena-West Helena in the semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Sophomore Karley Williams was also huge for Lamar, particularly inside. The 5-5 guard scored just 5 points, but she grabbed 14 rebounds and came away with 3 steals – all while trying to defend the Lady Mustangs' top player, Bethany Dillard.
"I thought she was the key to the game," CAC Coach Steve Quattlebaum said of Williams. "She got in there and whipped us on the boards all night long. She got our inside girls in foul trouble and did a good job guarding Dillard."
Dillard did finish with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals for the Lady Mustangs, who trailed 22-18 at the half. CAC was still behind 31-28 going into the fourth quarter before fighting back behind Ava Knoedl.
The junior guard, who ended with 13 points, scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter for CAC, including a deep three-pointer with 4:31 left that tied the game at 36-36. The score was later tied at 38-38 after a pair of Dillard free throws with 4:02 showing, but neither team was able to score again until Cochran scored the go-ahead basket.
"I told my kids that they have nothing to be ashamed of," Quattlebaum said. "It's been a tough season for all of us, but they fought and fought. It's not the way we wanted it to end, but sometimes things happen. I'm still extremely proud of them."
MAYFLOWER 50,
DEWITT 21
Kierra Fulton scored 13 points and Jenna McMillen added 11 points as Mayflower (20-5), the No. 1 seed from the 3A-5 Conference, dominated.
Brekayla Davis added nine points for the Lady Eagles, who led 32-7 at halftime.
Abby Noblin had seven points for DeWitt (16-8).